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Monday, June 17, 2013

Making homemade Sunflower Seed Butter

I have discovered that if I eat peanuts or other nuts that they cause sensitivities. Not to the point of anaphylactic shock, but still some fairly bad reactions ranging from hives to intense abdominal pain. Did I mention I love peanuts? Or pecans? Or salted cashews? Yeah it makes me feel like crying. I read about Sunflower Seed Butter and it peaked my interest. But all I could think....it can't taste like peanut butter.

I bought some at a local natural food market, and fell in love. I made peanut butter cookies and Brayden went crazy!! He loved them!!! But unfortunately I am not in that area a lot right now. So I checked online, and at another grocery store.......and do you know how many companies use soy products in their nut butters. It's sad, especially when it's not really that healthy for you and I am allergic to it. (Let me pause now as a tear wells up in my eye...)

Ok....so what do I do next.......hit the internet. I found a bunch of websites to make my own! The one I liked the most and drew me in was at Healthful Pursuit. I mean, what better way to avoid the soy than to make my own!!

I had bought a bag of Bob Red Mills Raw Sunflower Seeds, but didn't know that you really need roasted sunflower seeds to make the best Sunflower Seed butter. So that was my first task.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and put a single layer of seeds down on the pan. It took about 10 minutes in the oven. Keep a close eye on them, and be sure to stir them once during the 10 minutes. If they start turning a golden brown, take them out....even if it's a bit early. (I almost burnt my first batch....not good).

I did 3 batches with the one bag of sunflower seeds. I would transfer them to a bowl to cool slightly while I started the next batch.

Now I have a small food processor. Definitely need a larger one. It's on my 'dreaming of' list. So here are the remaining ingredients I used.

1/3 cup coconut oil (melted works best)

1 cup cane sugar

2 tsp sea salt

When the seeds had cooled slightly, I put 2 cups of seeds and half of each of the above ingredients in the food processor. It took about 5 minutes to do each batch.

I scraped the sides down once during the "processing". You may need to add a touch more coconut oil depending on your processor and seeds. The processor is breaking down the natural oils, but you don't want it too clumpy.

After two batches, here is my bowl of finished product.

I promise you that it tastes much better than it looks. Please refrigerate and it will keep about 2 weeks....if it lasts that long. I use this to snack on, make sandwiches, and even in recipes. I am planning "peanut" chicken this week....yummy!!!

Cost.....

Homemade - Roughly $5.50 for 20 ounces

Store bought - 16 0unces for $9.50 (rough estimate also)

Time.....Maybe took about an hour with clean up also. But I was also doing other cooking while making this.